Posted on 12 Mar 2024
Billet prices in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province declined over March 4-10, mainly impacted by the tepid finished steel market and the constrained rise in billet demand, according to Mysteel's weekly survey.
As of March 10, the price of Q235 150mm square billet in Tangshan in North China's Hebei province was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,440/tonne ($478.8/t) EXW and including the 13% VAT, down by Yuan 80/t or 2.3% from March 3.
Over February 29-March 6, daily billet consumption among the 48 re-rollers in Tangshan under Mysteel's tracking had increased for the third week to average 55,500 tonnes/day. However, this was higher by just 1.1% on week, a tiny gain compared with the prior week's 29% jump.
Indeed, cautious sentiment pervaded among most re-rollers during the survey period and reflected the dullness of the finished steel market, respondents to Mysteel's survey noted. Most re-rollers chose to buy billet just for their immediate production needs, they said.
Nevertheless, the fact that most re-rollers were maintaining operations allowed billet stocks to continue falling during the survey period. As of March 6, billet inventories among the sampled re-rollers declined by another 6.5% on week to sit at 372,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, billet stocks in the four commercial warehouses and two ports in Tangshan also declined by another 7.7% on week to total 1.44 million tonnes as of March 7, according to Mysteel's tracking.
Regarding supply, daily output of billets among the 24 steelmakers in Tangshan under Mysteel's survey averaged 40,700 t/d over March 1-7, up by 6.8% on week and marking a five-week rise. Some mills raised their billet output after their losses narrowed, sources said.
The average cost incurred when producing billets by the ten major mills in Tangshan under Mysteel's survey dropped by Yuan 73/t on week to Yuan 3,633/t including the 13% VAT last week, while the average loss they endured when selling those semis shrank by another Yuan 3/t on week to Yuan 173/t as of March 8.
Source:Mysteel Global
